


Out of the Water

by Melusine_cygnes



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), Disney - All Media Types
Genre: Descendants - Freeform, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Following the Events of the Third Movie, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Mutual Pining, Reader-Insert, Slow Burn, mermaids and pirates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2020-10-29 02:55:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20789420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melusine_cygnes/pseuds/Melusine_cygnes
Summary: You were very proud to be a mermaid, thank you very much. You didn't want to be where the people were. Actually, you'd rather avoid it. Defending the merfolk was the biggest goal in your life... well, it was until you meet a certain pirate... it seems that your family really had a thing for humans, after all. Not that you'd ever admit it...





	1. Chapter 1 - Atlantica's Secret

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: English isn't my first language, so I'll probably mess up some tenses, grammar and stuff. Go easy on me, please. Feedback is always appreciated
> 
> You can find me on tumblr: https://whatshername-please.tumblr.com/

We can't let the merfolk from the Isle out. They are criminals"

"Their children are not. Futhermore, even the former villains should be punished accordingly to the Atlantica laws."

"Atlantica is part of Auradon and by our law, that all the kings and queens agreed upon, the villains shall stay in the Isle of the Lost".

"That place is barbaric. The idea alone is vicious. They live with our leftovers, without medical care or fresh food. C'mon, that's absurd."

"Most of the kingdoms agreed on that"

"So maybe they should be on isle too. Ben, the people there can't even see the sun."

"I know."

"So do something about it. You're the King. You should do more than wear a crown!"

You've lost count of how many times you had this same argument with Ben. You were the daughter of Attina and, therefore, King Triton's granddaughter and heiress. One day you'd rule over the ocean but you were the diplomat of Atlantic for the time being. You were the one responsible to deal with the diplomacy with the water kingdom and Auradon. Whoever thought this was a good idea was out of their mind. 

You've heard many times you had swapped places with some child of the Isle. Not that you were mean or evil, you were simply honest. People said you had your grandpa's temperament, others that you were moody, and some just called you a bitch. You paid them no mind. Unlikely your aunt Ariel you've never given up your voice so you tried to make the best of it. You stood up for what you believed and wasn't afraid to say so. 

And there you were, on land, trying to convince again Ben to get Uma and the other merpeople out of the Isle. If you were to be Queen of the Seas one day, you wanted to be wise and righteous. And locking up children who had done nothing wrong but being born on the wrong side of a barrier, wasn't fair at all. 

Your cause seemed lost until Mal had had a major break down and gone back to the isle, Ben was kidnaped and spelled by Uma and now Uma was on the loose somewhere in the ocean and Mal and Ben had asked your help to find her. Of course you said yes and thank goodness they said nothing about turning her in. 

Humans, what fools.

You swan fast, passing by shoals of fish and corals, if you weren't in a hurry you'd have stopped to say hello; there was a really funny ray who lived nearby, but you had more important things to do right now. Flapping your tail you went downwards to the most dark and mysterious parts of the ocean. Also, you were being followed; rumours that Uma was hidding somewhere in the depths were spread and you and a few Atlantica guards went to check over. Well, they were, you were just trying to look like you were doing it. In reality all you wanted to do was go back to the palace and sleep.

After a few hours you called the guards off. Obsviously Uma wasn't there and you had just wasted your time again. The guards offered to escort you to the palace, to which you politely declined. Swimming your way back to Atlantica you were greeted by your grandfather, who seemed more than worried.

"No news of Uma's whereabouts?". He asked, his stern voice echoing through the waves.

"No grandpa. I think she might be far away by now. Maybe at Agrabah coast. No one goes there...". You tried to sound as serious as possible. Your grandfather understood you like no one else did, but If knew what you were doing... Well, you could only imagine the consequences of it.

He looked at you, perceiving something in your face. He signed, a deep frown crossed his forehead.

"I trust your judgment, my dear. But be carefull". He had a little furrow between his eyebrows as he said that.

Hugging your grandfather, you reassured him "I'm always".

He let you go, watching you swim away from him. If you had turned around, you'd have seemed a hint of sadness in his eyes. He loved you so much and he knew you could take care of yourself. Still, he couldn't help but worry about you.

You went straight to your bedroom, it was a beutiful room in one of the highest towers of the palace. It was decoreted with shells of your favorite color, corals and all kind of things you'd found at the bottom of the sea. You approached your bed carefully, scaring the girl who was on it.

"Damn it! You want to kill me? What took you so long, anyway? I'm starving".

"Sorry" you said with a laugh and a grin on your face "I was looking for you, actually. We had a search party and everything."

You sat on your bed next to Uma, you saw how her hair danced around her head as she sat up, eyes fixed on you. 

"That's a dangerous game we are playing. If I get caught..."

"You won't" you promised her "Uma, this is the perfect plan. No one suspects you are here and it's been months already! They are too busy following made up rumours. Every day a new fish caught sight of you in a different part of the sea when you are actually here at the heart of Atlantica" 

You took her hand and squeezed lightly. You and Uma had became good friends over time. You recalled the first day you met her, she was scared and alone and prepared to strangle you with her tentacles. Well, she did tried.

You found her by chance, she was swimming around the isle, trying to find a hole in the barrier; a way to get in or to let everybody out, whatever happened first. Remembering it now you were super careless, you let yourself be distracted by the beautiful cecaelia in front of you. You've never seen one of theirs before. A selkie? Yes. An ondine? Of course. Nereids, rusalkas, loreleys... you've met them all. But a cecaelia? Never. You were in a trance watching her body move with the waves and before you noticed she was striking at you, ready to attack.

Luckily, you knew how to fight pretty well. Also, you had a trump card hidden in your hair: a comb. Well, it looked like a comb, but with a little bit of magic it could be turned into a trident. It wasn't a all powerfull trident like yours grandfather's, but it was enough for you to defend yourself when necessary. When Uma thought you would strike the final blow you set the trident aside, offering your hand instead.

She took it and you both instantly clicked and became friends... well, at least it was how the scene played in your head. Truthly, it took weeks to convince Uma you weren't going to turn her in, even more time for you to actually bond. You'd bring her food, help her to hide and more importantly, you always made sure that no one would find her.  
You looked at the girl by your side, her teal hair floating gently in the water. You wish you could introduce her to your family. Uma was strong, willfull, determined, a natural leader. The only con was her parentage, she was the daughter of your family's former enemy, Ursula. However, you knew she had nothing to do with her mother's doings, how could she? Uma wasn't even born when her mother was terrorizing the ocean. All that you cared about was that Uma was part of your people; therefore, you'd be there for her and any merfolk who might needed your help.

"Stop staring at me, creep" her voice brought you back to reality. It was only then you realized you were still holding her hand. Not that Uma minded, she'd die before admiting it, but she liked the contact. Still, you pulled your hand away. "Do you have any news from the Isle?". She asked.

"Hm... New four VK's will be chosen like in 5 days. Well, they had already been chosen. They'll just be announced in some celebration"  
"Do you know who?" Uma tried to sound indifferent but you knew better.

"I think it was Dizzy Tremaine, Celia Facilier and some twins whose name I don't really remember." you aswered, aware of what she really wanted to know. "I haven't heard about Harry or your crew. Which is good, because have they done something, word would have already been out".

She shook her head, a thousand thoughts crossing her mind. With one quick move she swam away, leaning against the colorful coral structure you used as a vanity. From your spot on the bed you could see her twisting the tip of her tentacles, she only did that when she was worried about something.

"Four Villain Kids?" She spoke after a while "That's not enough. While they live their perfect little lives the people on the isle are suffering".

"Uma..." you knew she was right. More than that, you agreed with her, but someone had to be reasonable and everytime the Isle came up, Uma became anxious. "Things are changing. We can't act recklessly, don't forget you're on the run".

'It's easy for you to say. You don't know how it's in there" You could see the hurt in her eyes as she said that. It was clear Uma cared deeply about the villain kids but the simple thought of returning to that place scared her.

"Uma, we will work things out." you offered her a warm smile, but deep inside you were desperate. It wasn't like you had any idea how to convince Ben to let all the V.K's out of the Isle, you were trying that for years without success. Also, he wouldn't need a curse to go all beast on you once he find out that you've been helping Uma. Still, you had to reassure her that everything was going to be alright.

"Let's go grab some food" you said, getting up from your bed.

The magic shell glowed as Uma's appereance changed slowly. It never cease to amaze you to watch her changing into a completely different person. Her cecaelia form became the one of a litlle mermaid; her aqua tentacles were replaced by a reddish tail, her hair became a light shade of brown. Even her face was changed by the spell.  
That was how she had been living in Atlantida for the past months, she would easily change her appereance and no one seemed to noticed that your new friend was, in fact, the sea witch's daughter. 

Due to magic being discouraged in Auradon, all of the most powerful magic objects were donated to the museum. You always thought this was stupid. However, since Uma started hiding in King Triton's domains, you were glad he didn't have his trident anymore; otherwise, he would have seen right through Uma's charm spell. Fortunately, this wasn't the case and her necklace was the strongest relic in Atlantica, ensuring that both of you were able to hang around in the kingdom without worries. 

"Are you going to Auradon next week?" she asked while you swam towards the kitchens.

You grumbled in annoyance.

"Yes. Ben is going to propose to Mal and..."

"He will what?!" she interrupted you, surprised "Mal really gets everything, doesn't she?"

You felt the indignation in her voice, but it didn't stop you to tease her.

"You sound jealous" you sang, winking at her "I can't decide if you are jealous of Ben or Mal, though"

You could sworn you saw Uma blushing.

"This is not what I meant! You're so annoying" she swam past you, hitting you with her tail as she did so.

"I was only messing with you. Come back here" you laughed, heading towards her. Truth to be told, Uma had become a huge part of your life and you'd do anything to help her.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The new V.K's had arrived in Auradon, Ben and Mal were engaged, Hades tried to escape, some weirdo stole the crown of the Queen and Maleficent's sceptre... Like every other ordinary day on land. That's why you hated changing into your human form. Humans were noisy and dramatic and petty. The truth was; you didn't like being on surface. You were a mermaid for crying out loud, why would you want to change your beautiful and elegant fins to clumsy, hairy legs? You didn't say it, but in your opinion your aunt Ariel was crazy. Who in their right state of mind would want to be human? 

But you still had to go to Auradon once in a while, be diplomatic and all that. You had reported on the search parties for Uma, sent the best wishes to Ben and Mal for their engagement, made small talk to people, argued with your cousin Arabella. Normal stuff. You didn't intend to stay more than necessary. First because having legs was way too unconfortable and second, you had agreed to meet Uma near the barrier. 

She often went there, either to finda way to let everybody out or trying to get a glimpse of her friends. She missed them very much. You've heard the name of Harry Hook more times than you could count and from everything she had told you, you were certain he worked both sides of psycho street. Not that you were one to judge people without knowing them, but still... 

You were halfway there when a turtle told you that a eel told him that a crab told her that a dolphin heard from a seagull that Auradon was being attacked by an evil witch who put everyone to sleep.

You never understood how sleeping was considered a curse...

Anyways...  
If those rumours were true your cousins who went to Auradon prep, like Arabella, Elle and Melody, were included in this wicked spell. Gosh, you could desagree with them about lots of things, but you'd die for your family. Without hesitation you turned around, swimming ashore as fast as you were able to.

If only you knew how this decision would change your life, but that's not how fate works, isn't it?


	2. Not What You Wanted To Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You finally meet the famous Harry Hook, and you're not that impressed. Meanwhile, in Auradon, everyone is either sleeping or turned to stone. Things cannot get any worse, right?  
Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: English isn't my first language, so I'll probably mess up some tenses, grammar and stuff. Go easy on me, please. Feedback is always appreciated.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and commenting on “Out of the Water”. I was really nervous about posting it and you have no idea how much your support means to me <3

Once, you were asked how changing into human felt. You said it was like being stabbed by a hundred knives. Well, that was a lie, the transformation was fairly simple and painless, but what came next was always hard to deal with; in the ocean you were a weightless deity floating and dancing with the waves. On the other hand, everytime you were on land you felt heavy, like if all the weight of the world were put on your shoulders. 

In short, gravity sucked. 

However, you had more urgent matters to be preoccupied with. The seagul was right, Auradon was under a slepping spell. You had found some people at the beach and they were dead asleep and nothing you did was able to wake them up.

Who could have done that? In order to cast such a powerfull spell the person needed a lot of dark magic and the last time you checked... 

Your thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the distant sound of voices. For a brief moment, your whole body tensed up. What if they were the ones behind this huge napping mess? However, before you could even reach the comb in your hair, a familiar voice called your name.

It was Mal... thank goodness. Apparently, not everyone had been cursed, maybe she knew what happened. Your relief didn't last long, though. Once you turned to face Mal and her friends, you were greeted by the sight of Uma, which made your whole body freeze up. 

You were so screwed.

What was she doing here? Did Mal find and capture her? Did they know you had helped her? Was this a setup? Damn it! Your grandfather was going to kill you. Even worst, he would banish you to dry land. 

You'd rather die.

Before you could open your mouth to defend yourself against whatever Mal was going to accuse you, she hugged you tightly.

Weird.

"What are you doing here? I thought you went back to Atlantica. Are you alright? Are you safe?" The purple haired girl put her hands on your shoulders, staring into your eyes. The genuine concern in her face suggested that she didn't know you and Uma were friends. 

"Yes, I'm alright, don't worry.... but can anyone tell me what the hell is going on? I've heard some freak had cursed Auradon" you asked way too bluntly.

"You don't know?" She ran her hands nervously through her violet locks "Audrey stole my mother's scepter...."

"And decided to take revenge against Auradon..." you whispered to yourself, beggining to understand everything. 

How Audrey didn't go mental sooner was beyond your comprehension. Being humiliated by her boyfriend in front of the entire school and then being outcasted by her friends mustn't have been the highlights of her life, so you couldn't say you were really surprised by this sudden outburst of hers. You only wished she hadn't messed with your family and friends.

Your eyes wandered to Uma's direction, you still didn't understand what she was doing here. You tried to play it cool, but Mal took notice of the questioning look on your face.  
"They will bejoining us for the time being, by the way" she clarified, nodding towards the sea witch's daughter. 

"They?"

With everything that took place in the last minutes you failed to notice the two young men standing behind Uma. One of them was very tall and brawny. He had warm brown eyes and long blonde locks. Judging by his excited and joyful expression, you bet this was Gil. Uma had spoken of him before, she said how he wasn't truly evil or smart but could be useful if you needed brutal force and unquestionable loyalty. 

That was her way of saying that she liked him.

The other one, though... he really got carried away with the eyeliner... Uma had talked about him many times, so you didn't even have to see the hook on his hand to know who he was... However, even you had to admit he had quite beautiful eyes; they reminded you of your home, the ocean.

"Well, well, well..." he purred seductively walking in your direction, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips. " What a bonnie lass you are. I'm...'

"Harry Hook. I know" you cut him off aloof.

For one second he seemed to be taken aback by your response and lack of interest. Obviously, he wasn't used to girls treating him coldly; however, he quickly recomposed himself with the same devious grin on his face again.

"So, my reputation is famous even in Auradon, I see..." he said in an arrogant manner, leaning towards you and caressing your cheek with his hook. 

You felt the cold and sharp metal against your skin. It was clear he had done this hundreds of times before, either to intimidate someone or to charm them. Well, too bad for him you weren't in the mood for games, and humans weren't really your type (mermen were so cute and you didn't have to sell your soul to be with them). Meeting the pirate's eyes, you pulled his hook away from your face.

"Not really... " you replied indifferently "I have some friends who knew your father... But I don't see how this is relevant".

This was a half-truth, you knew some mermaids from Neverland who often talked about the infamous Captain Hook and the pirates who had tormented Neverland for years. The other part of the truth was that Uma never shut up about him, it was always "Harry this, Harry that". But it wasn't like you could say this without revealing that you hid her in Atlantica for months.

Before the pirate could come back with some witty remark, Mal intervened between the two of you.

"You can chat latter, we have to go".

She signed to everyone to follow her. You greeted Carlos, Evie and Jay with a small nod to which they retributed politely, Evie even smiled at you. However, the tension could be felt in the air; something terrible was going on and everyone could sense it. 

The human world, which used to be hectic and full of life, was deadly quiet. Theoretically, that should be the reason of the VKs' concerned expressions, but you didn't think Audrey and her new evil persona were the ones to blame for everybody's mood.

Not entirely, at least.

Carlos and Jay looked ready to punch somoneone in the face, to put it mildly. Considering how Jay was throwing daggers at Harry's direction, you'd say he didn't like the pirate that much. Come to think of it, Uma had told you once that she and Mal didn't really get along on the Isle. Was it possible that the frown on the boys faces was because an old grudge?

Humans weren't just petty, but immature too.

There was a younger girl with them, Celia, if you weren't mistaken. Gil and she were looking everything with sparkling eyes, like they had never seen a tree before... and it was possible they've never had, since they came from the Isle.

Gosh, that place was fucked up in so many levels.

As soon as everyone passed by you and were at a considerable distance, you approached Uma discreetely. It wasn't like you were internally freaking out or anything, but you didn't expect to find her and her former friends hanging out with Mal and her squad.

On top of that, the crème de la crème, everybody in Auradon was cursed by Audrey. 

This was absolutely not how you imagined to spend your day.

Walking beside Uma, you whispered to her trying to look casual and making sure no one else could hear or even suspect that you two knew each other.

"What happened? We were supposed to meet at the barrier!"

Uma looked at you for a brief second before turning her head again, staring the path ahead. 

"It's not like you had stuck to the plan, either" she murmured and you two kept walking. Out of the corner of your eye you saw Uma checking if anyone was paying attention to the two of you. Thankfully, the others were too occupied with their own business to notice the sea witch's daughter and Ariel's niece talking under their breath. Uma explained everything that happened earlier, and you made sure to listen her story carefully since her words were hushed and short. 

Did you get it right, though?

Mal had promised to let all the Vks off the Isle? For real? As happy as it made you, a little voice inside your head was warning you something was off. Mal didn't have the power to decide it by herself. A lot of people didn't take kindly when Ben announced he was going to bring four villain kids to Auradon. Moreover, every single time you tried to talk Ben into letting the merpeople come off the Isle he'd say it wasn't simple like that. To bring four kids at a time and let them adapt to life outside the barrier was one thing, to let everybody out was another. After all, Auradon had rules and laws and to do something like that would require lots of planning and meetings and bla bla bla.

So, it was weird that Mal had agreed to do it just like that... You'd have to wait and see.

"What are you scheming?"

You jumped a good few inches off the ground. Not that you got scared easily, but you weren't used to people appearing behind you out of the blue. You recognized the one who had the audacity to startle you, of course it had to be him: Harry Hook. 

The pirate was laughing his head off, his eyes were filled with tears. You rolled your eyes and walked away. As you did, you heard Uma warning him to chill, to which Harry complied. You heard him approaching you again, he wouldn't give you a rest, would he?

"Sorry princess, didn't mean to scare you". The way he said "princess" and how his mouth twisted into a ironic smile made you sure this was no compliment. He was mocking you.

The nerve.

"You better wipe this smirk off your face or I'll do it for you" you warned him, but it only made his smile grew wider. 

"Nervous, huh? I could..."

You never got to know what he could do because in that moment the group arrived in the gardens of Auradon Prep. The place looked like it had come out of a horror movie, every single person there was asleep. People in Auradon were always so lively and now, if they weren't snoring , you would think they were all dead. Not far away, you found your cousins, Ella and Arabella, in a deep slumber. Well, at least they seemed peaceful. You wished they were having good dreams because everything around you was a real life nightmare.

If they had gone to Atlantica like you suggested, you wouldn't have to be here dealing with all this nonsense.

Apparently, Audrey had concluded that sleeping wasn't a bad punishment enough and decided to turn people into stone too.

How witty of her.

How did she want to be Queen if she was attacking the kingdom and its people? It made absolutely no sense. For what your family told you about villains, planning was their weakest point, they usually acted out of spite, revenge or greed and didn't think long term. 

To say the least, If you want to be a jerk, be smart. 

If you weren't sure that Jay and Harry didn't like one another before, now you were certain. You saw they bickering over a wallet or something, making empty threats to each other. More than that, Uma's crew and Mal's gang held a real grudge against each other. Like right now Mal and Uma were arguing over whose plan to follow. Mal really had the gift of getting on Uma's nerves, you've never seen your friend be so bitter, and you saw her quite angry many times before.

"Maybe we should check the school very quickly since we're already here" you offered, and Mal couldn't hide her incredulous expression as she looked at you. The purple haired girl seemed very offended by your suggestion, like she didn't believe you could take Uma's side. 

Okay, she wasn't aware that you and Uma already knew each other and that you lived together for the past year, but she should know you better than to think you would not be on the side of someone of your own kind.

"To the castle" Mal gave the final word and again, everybody went after her. You grumbled, thoughts about leaving them and going back to Atlantica crossed your mind, but you'd never forgive yourself if you did so. Your family needed you and, on top of that, when everything was settled, you could say in your cousin's faces that you were right: the human world was a mess. 

"You know who she is, right?"

This time was Jay who interrupted your thoughts, you frowned in confusion. What was he talking about?

"Uma, she is the daughter of Ursula. The Sea Witch?" he said, making himself clear. 

"And? You are the son of Jafar, the Grand Vizier" you pointed out his own parentage.

Suddenly, Jay held you by the arm, pulling you away from the rest of the group. He did it as gently as he could, but, even so, if you didn't hold him in high esteem, you'd have punched the boy right in face. What was he thinking?

"You are not listening to me" he looked you dead in the eye, no hint of his usual cheerfulness on his face "I know you have this thing about protecting every mermaid of the world but Uma is dangerous. Remember what she and her pirates did last year? 

Oh no, he wasn't going down that road, was he? You sighed, feeling sorry for him already. This was a battle he couldn't win.

"Yes, she gave Ben a love potion and tried to take down the barrier. I don't understand why you sound so upset about it, since you guys did the exact same thing when you came to Auradon less then two years ago. By the way, that's the reason why Audrey freaked out. So, do you really want to judge them, Jay? You had another chance, why not them?"

If he had to be honest with himself, Jay knew he avoided to think about this. That's why your words left him open-mouthed; he didn't expect you to be so straight forward about the subject. 

"You don't understand. Even on the Isle, they were the worst of the worst" he insisted.

"Really? I thought you used to be the top dogs of the Isle. What about all that 'Long Live Evil?' baloney and the blasé attitude you guys had? " you waited for a response, as none came, you went on "Futhermore, I don't care if Uma is the daughter of Ursula. She has nothing to do with her mother's doings, in the same way you're not to blame for your father's crimes. Admit it, you just don't like them and you're being unfair."

You didn't mean to sound so harsh, so you jokingly added "Or maybe you're just afraid of losing your status of Auradon's bad boy... Don't worry darling, no one can compare to you".

You gave him a wink, your words made Jay blush and avoid your gaze. Taking the opportunity, you held his arm and led you both back to Ben's castle path.

"You're such a tease, you know that?" he told you as you both made your way towards the group who, at this point, where far ahead.

"A tease? Well, I suppose a tease is better than The Sea Bitch" you told him. It wasn't a secret to you that some people called you that. Well, if being strong-willed and independent were reasons to be considered a bitch, you accepted the title proudly.

"The Sea Bitch? Is it real?" he asked amusedly, raising an eyebrow. 

"Very real. Not that I mind, I find it very fitting. Better be the Sea Bitch then the girl who was cursed as an infant or the one who ate the poisoned apple, right?" 

You both laughed, it was moments like this that almost made you forget how much you disliked being on land.

Almost.

"Just be carefull, alright?" he smiled at you. It was hard to believe that someone as warm and kind as him had grown up in a place like the Isle of the Lost. Then again, that was the whole point of your argument against the place. You put all the bad people together in a place they can't leave, they have zero support or fundamental rights and they have to learn how to live like this. In addition, they were left there to rot.

It doesn't take a genius to realize this was doomed to failure. It was obvious that anyone born in a place like the Isle will likely believe that evil is the only way to succeed, since they were never taught better.

They needed a chance of having a normal life. Everyone could change, King Beast himself wasn't the nicest person in the world when Belle met him and Audrey had just cursed her friends in revenge. Was she a villain now? Would be she thrown on the isle? Everything that was happening just proved that everyone was capable of doing good and bad. Therefore, the Isle has been a mistake and the only thing it was doing was nursing the already existent animosity between heroes and villains. 

Forgive and forget? More like resent and regret, and kids were paying the price for that.

"Guys we have to stay together. What if Audrey had showed up?" Evie scolded (well, as much as Evie could scold someone) you both when you reached the group.   
"Don't blame me" you said, looking at Jay "But don't worry, if Audrey knew we are here, she'd have already sent her greetings".

"Yeah, sleeping curse or turning to stone. You decide" Carlos half joked. If hadn't been the deep frown on his face as he said that, you'd have believed he wasn't nervous at all.

Actually, everyone was deeply worried about Audrey showing up. It was noticeable how they were attentive to all kind of sounds around you, a little cracking noise in the woods was enough to make everyone turn their heads and tense up.

"I'd totally choose to become stone" you tried to break the ice "Let's be real, I'd be the prettiest statue here. I'd nailed it, no doubts".

"Yeah right, I'm sure you would find some way to turn youreself back to normal and kick Audrey's ass if she put a spell on you". Jay observed in a joking manner. You'd be pretty pissed to be turned into stone, that was true, and the fact Jay knew you so well annoyed you to no end.

Before you could reply to him, Harry joined your conversation.

"I didn't know princess knew how to fight. What do you do? Throw flowers at each other? That's lovely".

Breath, you told yourself. He was Uma's best friend and she would be very displeased if you pierced him with your trident... 

Maybe you could make it look like an accident.

"I could fill a book with all the things you don't know" you answered him as coldly as you were able to. You didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was annoying you.

You saw Uma whispering something in his ear, whatever she said made him groan and roll his eyes.

The atmosphere in the air was thick with tension. Fortunately, Ben's castle was already in sight, which made Mal pick up the pace in hopes to get there as fast as possible. You took advantage of this and went to talk to Uma again.

"What did you tell him?" You asked her.

"Hm?" She turned her face to you with a confused expression. She didn't get what you were talking about.

"Harry" you clarified "What did you tell him?" The pirate has been strangely quiet, contenting himself with doing snarky comments about Araudon and its inhabitants.

"Oh that..." she chuckled to herself "I said he'd better leave you alone before you lost your temper and shove his hook up his..."

"We're here. Let's go in" Mal called out, drowning out Uma's last words.

"He is stubborn and doesn't like being contradicted, just like you" the sea witch's daughter concluded, grinning slightly. 

You were about to reply, you were nothing like Harry, but doing it would only prove her right. So, instead, you nodded to show you had heard her. Both of you stayed silent as you walked into the castle. You pondered about the outcomes that would take place from that moment on; the fate of Auradon and the Isle were on the line. Either winning or losing would change everything, and you'd be lying if you said you weren't excited to see what was going to happen next.


	3. Enchanted Knights were difficult, but complimenting was even harder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished the third chapter and it’s over 10k words! So I’ll split it in 3 parts, that way I’ll have more time to write another chapter and you don’t have to wait too much for a new update.

“Maybe it’s contemporary art”

You pointed at the destroyed painting on the floor which made Mal stare at you in disbelief. Ok, maybe now wasn’t the best time for light hearted jokes.

Thus, it was probably better not to say anything about the curtains being all torn up since no one took notice of them…

Ben’s castle was not very different from the rest of Auradon: dead silent and a wicked atmosphere hovered in the air. Well, it was until everyone started searching for the king.

Everyone was calling for Ben but that made absolutely no sense, you thought. If Audrey had gone to the castle, she’d have turned Ben to stone or something, making impossible for him to answer. All the noise would just draw her attention, if she didn’t already know you were there which was very likely, by the way.

Really, why couldn’t she set Ben’s clothes on fire, break his favorite clock, shave his eyebrows? It’d have been so much easier to deal with.

Humans always had to make everything more difficult, hadn’t they?

You had gone through the whole the castle and found no one and also Dude had lost the track of Ben’s scent, the best option now would be to go back to Auradon Prep since it was the last place Audrey was seen at. But of course Mal wasn’t entirely convinced that the castle was empty and you were checking the last room left: it was a large hall full of coats of arms, vitrals and armors.

Why were there so many armors? Questionable decorating choice, if someone asked you. And unless Ben was hiding inside one of them, he wasn’t there either. Coming to Ben’s castle had been a completely waste of time.

“Hey!” someone called you, way too over-excited. “We weren’t properly introduced yet, I’m Gil”

The muscular boy extended his hand smiling widely at you. You shook his hand, presenting yourself.

“Are you a princess?” he asked. While Harry called you a princess with disdain, Gil appeared to be genuily interested in you, then again, he was fascinated by everything in Auradon, from the leaves on the trees to the berries in the bushes.

“I am” you answered him.

It seemed to be physically impossible, but his smile grew even bigger than before.

“I’ve never met a princess before. Your highness” he bowed and then looked at you with gleaming eyes “Have I done it right?”

Gil looked very proud of himself and it broke your heart. It was infuriating to think how many wonderful kids were stuck and forgotten on that Isle. For 20 years no one thought or cared about them, even now most people believed that the Isle’s inehabitants were dangerous and past redemption. You dared King Beast to look in Gil’s eyes and say he was a criminal who deserved to be punished for the rest of his life.

“Yes, you did. But you don’t have to do it, really.” you said and he nodded in agreement. Ok, you decided, out of Uma’s friends Gil was your favorite.

All you wanted to do was to find Audrey and go back home, but what was an already difficult task in itself was getting even harder because of Uma and Mal incessant bickering. You tried to ignore when Mal said she wandered what fried octopus tasted like. One thing that never entered humans’ head was that mermaids and fishes were friends, one day you were hanging out with a squid or a crab and suddenly they were fished and eaten by some unfeeling human. Sebastian still had nightmares about the time he got trapped inside your uncle’s…

Oh, wait. Did that armor just move?

Shit.

Everyone noticed it too, excepting Uma and Mal because they were too distracted fighting with each other.

“Girls!” Harry yelled “We have a situation here”. You wished you had a phone to take a picture of Uma’s face at this moment. She looked outraged by the audacity of Harry to cut her off.

At least now everyone was completely aware of that all the armors in that cursed place were moving towards you and ready to cut you all into tiny pieces. Drawing back wasn’t even an option since you were completely surrounded, the only chance you had to get out of this mess would be to fight.

WHY WERE THERE SO MANY ARMORS? If you survived this, you’d have a long talk to Ben about interior design.

Good thing everyone was optimistic about defeating them because, by your account, you were way outnumbered… not that Uma and Mal seemed to care since they were quarreling again. Evie was the one who got fed up with all the nonsense and stepped in and, while she tried to talk them into their senses again, you took the comb from your hair, ready to make it assume its true form. If Fairy Godmother didn’t have a rule against magic… or weapons being unnecessarialy used, you wouldn’t even bother changing your trident into a hair comb. You looked super badass carrying your trident around like the bitching sea queen you were…

Would be….

Whatever…

“Will you really brush your hair now, princess?”

That.

Mocking.

Tone.

Again.

You could either punch him right now or wait for an enchanted knight to do it…. but you had a better idea.

His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open when he saw the comb that had been in your hand the moment before become an imponent trident. You watched with delight that ridiculous smirk on his face change into a shocked face. It always amazed you the look people made when they realized that your cute hair pin could make someone bleed to death, and Harry Hook did not disappoint you.

That would answer his question about your fighting skills.

The jerk.

But you had no time to think any further about Harry Hook and his pesky presence, the knights were near and you had a battle to face.

————–

It was official, you hated the human world and the ridiculous armors they used as house decoration. If Belle and the Beast (did he even have a name or his name was really Beast? Whatever…) hadn’t decide that every single corner of that castle needed to have a knight’s suit, you wouldn’t have had to be dodging swords attacks coming from every single angle that you could think of. It didn’t matter how hard or fast you hit them or that they were too heavy to react because they were enchanted. They could be slow to strike, but they neither got tired nor hurt, so you could attack them as much as you wanted and it didn’t make any difference, you were just scratching the metal. They were many and you were only 8, this wasn’t a fair battle, at all

“We need magic to defeat those things” you shouted to Mal while hitting a knight right in his chest, he stumbled a little but regained his balance fast enough. At the same time that you avoided another hit, you caught a glimpse of Harry who was close to you and unaware of the armor approachinh him from behind.

C'mon Harry, turn around…

Gosh, you had to do everything.

The knight striked again, but you avoided the blow. Taking this as a cue, you ran towards Harry and, as you did so, you managed to knock down the armor that was ready to attack the pirate. The sound of metal hitting the floor made the boy turn his head, he saw the armour laying on the floor and gave you a surprised look; either the boy didn’t expect you were able to fight or he didn’t expect that you would put yourself at risk to help him.

“You can thank me later” you said already attacking another hellish knight.

Thank goodness Mal had heard you and decided to use her magic against the cursed armors and before you could blink, the knights stopped moving and fell in the middle of the room.

It was about time.

Everyone was celebrating the victory, there were no more Uma’s crew or Mal’s gang, all of them were friends and, well… it ended as fast as it started. In one second they were cheering and laughing and in the other they rememrebed they didn’t like each other. The friendliness lasted two seconds, it was a new record.

Both gangs walked away from each other, Uma and her pirates stood on one side, and Mal and the VKs stood on the other. Celia and you decided to stay away watching them from afar.

Evie, who seemed determined to make everyone to get along, proposed an icebreaker and it took all your willpower to not to laugh at your friends’ faces upon hearing this. You have never heard so many groans or seen people looking away so fast in your life: Uma was probably deliberating all the choices she did in her life and looked like she could use a drink, or five, while Gil was just confused. Carlos and Jay were clearly unconfortable and would prefer to sleep forever than to go through this, and the only reason Mal didn’t shut Evie down right at the spot was because she dind’t want to hurt the girl’s feelings. And Harry…

It was a surprise to you when he didn’t come up with some ironic comment. Actually, he looked rather astonished when Evie complimented him and it appeared he was about to reply her before Uma cut him off.

And then she and Mal restarted their usual bickering.

Maybe the icebreaker wasn’t a bad idea, after all.

“Summer School?” Harry laughed “No wonders she wants revenge”.

Not that you’d ever say it out loud, but the pirate had a valid point.

Finally, they decided on following Uma’s initial plan to the joy of the sea witch’s daughter. Apparently, Audrey was still in Auradon Prep, so the girls would go and check her room for clues, and the boys would look out for Ben.

Everyone was ready to leave, but before the team split you spoke up.

“Actually, I’m going with the guys, ok?”

“Why?” Mal questioned you, raising an eyebrow.

“Because if Audrey shows up it’s better that at least one person knows how to use magic” you explained.

“No, the amber is the only thing that can defeat her, you wouldn’t stand a chance” Mal was clearly annoyed that you were holding them back, but you ignored the whay she glared at you and went on.

“Even so, I may be able to hold her off with my trident. You, Uma and Evie got brains, strenght and magic. Jay, Carlos, Gil and Harry, on the other hand….”

Your eyes lingered on the boys in front of you who, you knew for a fact, would kill each other in the first opportunity.

“Too edgy” you pointed to Jay.

“Too pure” and Carlos.

“Too bubbly” Gil.

“Too…” you looked Harry up and down and shrugged “Honestly? I can’t even describe him.”

Mal went silence for a moment, deliberating whay you had said, while everyone else was staring at you with a look you knew too well. It was the famous “I can’t believe she actually said that” face.

“Fine, you proved your point” Mal finally declared and the ofended look on Jay’s face almost made you laugh. You’d have to apolize to him later… But right now you had a king to find before Mal snapped at you again.

You and the guys left the castle and followed Dude, who had detected Ben’s scent.

“I’m not edgy” said Jay with a pout, looking too adorable to be taken seriously.

“Didn’t you almost break your arm trying to learn R.O.A.R just for the sake of beating Chad? Or what about that time when you got into a fight with a guy twice your size because he said the only reason you won the tourney game was because everybody on the other team was scared to come near a villain kid? ” you asked him.

“Hey! You were encouraging me!” he reminded you, laughing about the incident.

“I was not” you denied, putting your hand on your chest in a mocking manner “How dare you to suggest I’d ever do something like that”. You tried to make a serious face, but broke into a smile in a matter of seconds as you remembered that day. "Did we punch him, though? I can’t recall".

“No, Carlos stopped us… he is too pure” the VK teased, and Carlos didn’t take it kindly. As he passed by the both of you, he hit Jay’s arm hard enough to make his friend yelp.

“Come back here, Carlos” Jay called and ran after him “I was only joking”.

You giggled.

Humans, what dorks.

Minding your own business, you kept walking silently. Your friends were ahead, making sure to not lose Dude from their sight. Things appeared to be safe, at least for now, so you decided to change your trident into its pocket version, and with one quick motion of your hand, it became a hair comb again.

“How do you do that?” it was Gil who asked and he seemed utterly puzzled by your trident.

“Oh, it’s magic.” you said while Gil observed with narrowed eyes you place the enchanted comb in your hair, the boy was staring so intensively at it that looked like he was wainting for the comb to burst into flames or something “It’s no big deal, really”

“Yeah, you’re probably used by it, right? But we don’t have magic on the Isle…” he looked down, ashamed of being impressed by something that was so ordinary to you, and you felt terrible. You didn’t mean to upset him.

“Oh no, I mean… I just never really thought about it…” you tried to explain.

“Of course you didn’t, why do people in Auradon would think how their lives are perfect?” Harry, who had been oddly quiet, spoke. However, if he were expecting you to ague with him, he’d be disappointed. The pirate could get on your nerves but you couldn’t be a hypocrite and deny all the privileges you had just because you were born on the “right” side of the barrier.

Of course Harry didn’t know that was how you felt about the barrier and took the lack of a response as an confirmation.

“How nice it must be to have everything, huh?” he tried to sound cynical, but you could hear the hurt and bitterness in his voice.

“King Triton has a trident too, you know.” Gil said absently, ignoring completely the tension between Harry and you “It was on the Isle two years ago, we almost got it”

“Yeah I know. I nearly killed my cousin when I discovered she messed up with grandpa’s trident” you remembered like it was yesterday. Your cousin Arabella decided she wanted to prove her worth by summoing a storm using your grandfather’s magical trident. If this wasn’t reckless enough, she also lost the trident that ended up on the Isle. Thanks to Mal and her gang the trident was recoreved before your grandfather noticed it was gone.

What a day.

“Wait, your grandfather? Are you…?” Gil’s eyes widened when he realized who you were.

“Yeap, King’s Triton granddaughter, that’s me.” you finished his sentence, very proud of being who you were.

“Then you are a mermaid!” the blond boy’s eyes moved to your legs and he frowned at them, as if he couldn’t understand what they were doing there “If you are a mermaid, where is your fishtail?”

You chuckled and explained. It wasn’t the first time someone asked you that, but you didn’t mind. Actually, everytime you had the chance to brag about being a mermaid, you did it.

“When I need to be on land I turn into a human”

“Uma is Ursula’s daughter, did you know that?” it amazed you how Gil was capable of saying anything in such a light manner. Most people would be very cautious about speaking of the former villain of someone’s family in their presence but not Gil, he definitely didn’t mind bringing the subject up.

If you knew that Uma was the sea witch’s daughter? IF YOU KNEW THAT. You have been talking about this girl for years and, in the past months, you literally hid her in your room. YOU DID KNEW THAT.

This was what you really wanted to say, but instead you laughed it off “I think I’ve heard her name a few times”.

“Is it his trident?” it was Harry the one making a question now and, for the first time, he seemed genuinely curious and not just being sarcastic or cunning.

“Oh no… it was a gift from him, actually. It’s not as powerful as his, though. But it’s good enough” one thing that never ever bothered you was to talk about your life as a mermaid. If someone ever decided to write a tale about you, people would stop thinking that every mermaids’ wish was to become human.

You just loved being a mermaid and nothing would ever change that.

“What can it do?” he inquired, taking a closer look at the comb in your hair. He was wondering about the damage that could cause, no doubt.

“It can control water, for the most part. But is also good to beat the shit out of my enemies”

He smiled.

Harry Hook had sincerely smiled at you.

Maybe people were right, maybe you were born on the Isle and were switched at birth with some kid from Auradon. It would explain your talent for befriending villain kids.

You have never made friends easily, better saying, people didn’t want to be friends with you because of your reputation of being temperamental and moody, which wasn’t entirely true. You just didn’t care about being on the spotlight or doing what people expected you to do. Did you have to to sing along with woodland creatures just because you were a princess? Your area of expertise was marine life, for crying out loud. Squirrels and mice freaked you out! Once, a guy asked you on a date and thought it would be a good idea to go to a sea food restaurant!

You weren’t moody, humans were the ones who had the emotional range of a barnacle.

Also, a lot of people in Auradon were too self-absorbed, they thought everyone had a lovely happy life like them. Everytime you brought the Isle up they said you were overreacting and that it couldn’t be that bad. You wondered if they could see the black clouds that covered the place or if they even remembered that all Auradon’s leftovers were sent there.

You tried to be patiente but sometimes -well, most of times- you could not help yourself and ended up speaking your mind. At least from now on, you could claim that you have never cursed anyone out of spite.

Thanks, Audrey.

“If we’re getting to know each other, I have a question for you” you said to Harry who arched an eyebrow, curious about what you were going to say “Is your accent real?”

He blinked in confusion, not sure if he had heard you right.

“Yes! What kind of question is that?” he was perplexed by what you asked. Harry wasn’t used to people commenting on his accent and the times someone had said something about it, it was always to make fun of him - and Harry always made sure they learned not to do it again. So, he didn’t know if you were serious or simply mocking him.

“I don’t know. I believed you were being dramatic, to be honest. The eyeliner, the coat… The accent could very well be part of your pirate aesthetic” You didn’t want to sound rude or anything, you honestly imagined the accent was only him being theatrical, but since he didn’t answer right away (not even a ironic remark), you added quickly “It’s a lovely accent, it suits you”.

At first, you expected him to shut you down or tell you to fuck off. However, as he didn’t reply anything, you thought you really had offended the boy. You were ready to apologize (you could be the sea bitch, but you weren’t rude…). Instead, he bursted into laughter and you frowned, not understanding what was so funny to make Harry Hook laugh like that.

That boy was completely unpredictable.

“It’s not an aesthetic, lass. I’m a pirate” it was the first time since you met that Harry seemed so amused and it wasn’t at someone’s expanses. “Why did you think this?”

“Well, you do walk around carrying a hook” you pointed to the sharp object he kept holding since the moment you laid your eyes on him.

“And who are you to judge? You have a magical trident in your hair.”

It was your turn to laugh, maybe Harry wasn’t that bad.

“Fair enough, I can’t argue against it” you agreed with him,

Upon hearing your words, his mouth twisted into a smug grin…

“I knew you would warm up to me, princess”

Yeah, you took back what you thought seconds before, Harry Hook was insufferable. You huffed in annoyance and walked away from him and his pompous attitude.

Humans were never worth the stress


	4. Don't Touch Mermaid's Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You tried to be civil, but Harry Hook made things more difficult than they should be, and maybe you weren't the best person to mess with.

You weren't an expert, but you had already seen that tree twenty minutes ago, and that rock, and that berry bush. Either Dude had no idea where he was leading the group or Ben was moving around really fast. Maybe, you should go after Fairy Godmother's wand instead, it was the most powerful magical object in Auradon, after all. If it had turned a pumpkin into a golden carriage, it would help an angst teenager to overcome her evil phase.

Gil stopped to eat some berries, and he was completelty mesmerized by them. The blonde boy even suggested that you played the icebreaker, praising Jay right after. The compliment took Jafar's son by surprise but he went on with it, and, in a matter of instants, he and Gil started chatting like childhood friends. Someone didn't seem very thrilled with the boys new found connection, though. Harry, whose attitude showed that he couldn't bare being left out, didn't waste time on making a scoff comment about the conversation.

As for you, it was gold to see the Harry's expression when Jay and Gil kept talking like they didn't hear the pirate's bitter words.

"They completely ignored you" you glanced over him just to see his smirk fading away from his face and turning into a scowl. Harry Hook didn't like to be overlooked, you could tell for sure, and you'd take advantage of that to bother him a little.

He deserved it, anyway.

"They are not even paying attention to you, how sad" you added, just to push his buttons a bit further.

It worked, he glared at you in such a way that made you glad that looks couldn't kill, otherwise you would have burst into flames. You took no notice of him, evil faces didn't scare you.

Hary catched a berry with his hook and ate it in a very dramatic way, drawing all attention to him. That guy was all about aesthetic, wasn't he? 

"PS, your mutt went that way" he told Carlos and it was only then that everybody noticed that Dude wasn't around anymore. The boys followed to where Harry had motioned, leaving you and Jay, who grabbed a few more berries, behind.

"Look at you, all sociable and making friends" you teased him.

"Weren't you talking to Harry like, a second minute ago?" he threw your little chitchat with the pirate right in your face.

"I only want to get to know Uma's friends" you defended yourself, shrugging your shoulders. 

"Why?" he questioned, intrigued by your answer. 

Damn, you forgot you weren't supposed to know Uma at all. 

"Well... you said it yourself and I quote, 'I have this thing about protecting every mermaid of the world', so if Mal keeps her promise and really let the VKs off the Isle, it means Uma will be staying in Auradon, and she is the daughter of Ursula, therefore, she is part of the merpeople who are under the protection of Atlantica and..."

"Okay, okay! I get it" he put his hand over your mouth, knowing very well that when you started talking about this subject, nothing could stop you.

In other situation that, wouldn't have stopped you to adduce your speech about the Isle and the rules of the sea, but since this was exacttly the reaction you expected to draw from him, you just pushed his hand aside.

You went after Dude, who finally seemed to be on the trail of Ben's whereabouts. Or it was what you thought, because all you could see were trees and more trees, and... You heard a loud growl and out of nowhere a buffalo monster jumped from behind a tree, pouncing on the little squad. Good thing you all had good reflexes, because with the size of the claws of this over-grown furry ball, he would have ripped your guts out in the blink of an eye.

Now, more than ever, you regretted not going back to Atlantica.

What the hell was this thing?

Oh wait...

The blue and yellow combinantion...

The clothes...

Oh...

That thing was Ben.

Gosh, Audrey didn't take easily their break up, did she? You made a mental note of never ever dating her if this was how she treated her exes.

"Use your magic " Carlos cried out, urging you to do something about your beasty friend.

"My magic won't do any good. He needs true love kiss or something like that, and I am defenitely not a furry" you pratically shouted the last part, getting ready to defend yourself in case Ben decided to attack you again. 

It was Gil who noticed something was wrong with the beast's hand.

"He's got a boo-boo that's why he is so cranky... My dad said his dad did not handle pain well, at all" he talked about his father's murder attempt on King Beast as if he was talking about the weather. 

How precious was this boy?

Ben snarled at you again, and Carlos stepped in. Carefully, he approached the cursed boy, soothing him. You expected Ben to pluck out Carlos eyes or something, but the VK managed to pull the thorn out of Ben's furry hand with mastery, instead. 

Nice...

Now what?

Out of nowhere, a blast of water flew right past your head and splashed all over Ben's beasty body. Slowly, he started to look less like a beast and more like an ordinary human being. You looked over your shoulder and saw Jane, who was holding a water blaster, it became quite clear that the Fairy Godmother's daughter was the one responsible for undoing partially Ben's curse. Who needed a magical wand when you had enchanted lake water, right?

You and Jay rushed to help Ben, holding him up and taking him to sit down on a rock nearby. The poor boy seemed to just have woken up from a nightmare. However, not even the enchanted water was strong enought to lift the spell completely, but it was funny to watch Jane splashing another blast of water on Ben's face in hopes of making his new grown beard and fangs to disappear.

"Don't worry" you reassured him "I'm sure Mal won't mind"

"Do you like it?" Ben grinned cheerfully and ran his hand over his beard, expecting your approval.

You hummed, not sure if he wanted to hear the truth. You looked away from your friend and saw Harry hitting on Jane and a jealous and protective Carlos interceding on her behalf. 

You rolled your eyes. Being in Auradon was always like entering into some cheesy soap opera. The drama, the angst, the musical numbers that came out of nowhere...

While Jay and Carlos explained to Jane and a very confused Ben everything that had happened up to that point, you decide to stay away from the conversation to avoid questions that could lead them to realize you had helped Uma. Not that you were afraid of them, but if your grandfather knew about that, he would have a fit and King Triton's rage was feared in all seven seas and beyond. So, there you were again, left to talk to the villain kids who, although you weren't sure why, appeared to be a little apprehensive since Ben joined the group. Then again, it could be just your impression.

"Are you enjoying Auradon so far?" you asked the boys.

Gil went on a rant about what he liked so far, giving examples and detalied descriptions of flowers, grapes, threes, berries and all the things that you had in Auaradon and they didn't have back on the Isle, which was basically everything. He also said something about penguins and going on a jungle cruise with Jay, but you didn't pay attention because Harry leaned over you with that stupid smug grin of his.

"It's not as boring as I thought it would be" did he really have to come this close just to say that? You were pretty sure that his life's mission was to be as annoying as he could.  
"Really? Everybody is cursed..." you replied, but it only made his grin to grow wider. 

"Exactly"

You shook your head, what a weirdo.

"Hey" Gil called your name, making both you and Harry to turn your heads in his direction at the same time "Do you think Ben will kick us back to the Isle?"

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Harry stiffen up and his confident expression fade away. 

Was it possible that they were worried that Ben wouldn't allow the kids to come off the Isle as Mal had promised? 

"No!" you set their minds at rest "Ben may seem a bit innocent, but he is compassionate and very smart. The VK Program was idealized by him and even if people didn't agree with it, he put his foot down. I know Ben and I've annoyed him long enough about this matter, so I am sure he won't abandon the Isle. Also, Evie will kill him if he shuts down the program... Thus, I think you're good"

More than that, you would never let him put Uma back on the Isle and if he did that, it would become your personal goal to make him regret every decision he ever made in his life. Actually, if Ben dared to back down, you'd raise hell. 

Finally, you arrived at Evie's home and in the right time! You've been walking on land for too long and starting to feel a little dehydrated. All you wanted to do was to come in and have a glass of water. Luckily, the girls were already waiting for you at the door and, as you got closer, they greeted the group, glad that everyone was alive and safe. Uma even teased Mal about Ben's fangs. Funny how a few hours earlier they were at each other's throats and now it was like they had always been friends.

"You okay?" you felt Uma's hand on your shoulder and looked at her, smiling.

"Yes, of course. Just feeling a bit dried. Have I mentioned how much I hate being ashore?"

"I don't know. Maybe a thousand times, just every single day since we met. 'Uma, the human world is a nightmare. Humans are so annoying and stinky, swimming with dolphings is so much better than anything else they have up there' " she made an impression of you, putting her hand on her forehead dramatically.

You groaned. 

"Don't mock my pain, and I never said that. You know I much rather swim with rays, they're way more friendly than dolphins. Also, I do not speak like that".

"But the attitude is on point" she winked.

Then, it was decided that Jane, Gil and Doug would go after Fairy Godmother, who surely had become a stone statue like everybody else, otherwise she'd have appeared by now. Or maybe not, after a 16 years old boy was crowned King of Auradon you stopped believing adults had any idea what to do. Therefore, Fairy Godmother could very well be drinking tea while expecting that a bunch of teenagers would solve all the problems.

As soon as you entered Evie's cottage, you went straight to the kitchen. Getting the biggest cup you found, you filled it with water and, to give it an extra punch, you added some salt. It was the closest thing you had to ocean's water, anyway. The glass was almost touching your lips; unfortunately, everything went wrong.

Harry Hook literally came out of nowhere and took the glass from your hands, you tried to warn him against it but it was too late, the next moment he had already drunk all its content. You'd have laughed when his carefree expression changed into one of utter disgust as he swallowed the water, if he hadnt spitted out all of it on your face soon after.  
You did what any sane person would have done: you started yelling at him.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?" Harry screamed as loud as you "What kind of person drink salt water?" his pained expression showed that the taste still didn't have left his mouth.

"A mermaid, you barbarian!!" you shouted, doing your best to dry your face off.

"Were you trying to poison me?" 

You scoffed at the pirate's words. Was he really accusing you? You had to give him kudos for his guts, because he lacked any commom sense.

"YOU STOLE MY FUCKING WATER!!" you shouted at the top of your lungs. If everyone in Auradon wasn't sleeping or a statue, they would have been able to hear all the nasty things you said to Harry, to which he replied accordingly. 

It took you both a while to notice a third voice joining the riot, it was Uma's. Upon hearing the shouts and death threats, the girl entered the kitchen to find her best friends acting like angry sharks. It was almost amusing to see how fast Harry went quiet when he saw Uma there, asking if you two had gone mad.

"She tried to poison me, Uma!" he pointed at you accusingly.

"Excuse me!" you look at your friend, who couldn't be any less impressed by your petty explanations "He spit water on my face. MY WATER. I WAS GOING TO DRINK IT" 

The sea witch's daughter rolled her eyes so hard that you could swear she saw her own brain.

"You know what, lass?" Harry got dangerously close to you, leaning slightly on the kitchen's table "I'm used to rotten food and sea water, but I have never tasted anything as dreadful as this. If this is what mermaids have to drink, I understand why so many of you want to leave the ocean".

You gasped and he grimmed, thinking he had finally gotten you. That pirate had just crossed the line and he had no idea who he was dealing with. You could put up with him stealing your drink and spitting it all over you, but talking bullshit about your beloved kin was something you weren't able to ignore. Uma would have to settle for having Gil as her first mate because you were about to kill Harry.

"You know what Hook" you said in your sweetest-sounding voice "You have the accent, the jacket, the hook, the smokey eyes... but you're still missing one thing... Better saying, you are not missing it..." 

As quick as one could blink, you grabbed a small knife from the counter and stabbed it into the table close to where Harry's hand was lying.

"A FUCKING HAND!".

Okay, you wanted the knife to land close to Harry's hand, but it was a little too close... Actually, you failed to hit it for a couple of inches, had you done it a little bit to the left, Harry Hook would be lacking a finger. 

Maybe you were kind of moody, after all.

Harry Hook had big blue eyes that usually sparkled with a boyish malice (and a bit of insanity), but, right now, he was looking at you with bulging eyes, one part of him didn't believe in what you just had done and the other was a little bit impressed by it. Of course all these emotions washed off from his face in seconds.

"DID YOU SEE IT, UMA? SHE IS CRAZY!"

"So, you can walk around spitting on people and threatening to hook them and that's okay? YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO JUDGE ME"

And the yelling started again, but Uma was having none of it and she knew both of you enough to understand that if someone did not step in, you wouldn't stop until one of you were dead.

"Stop both of you, right now!" she didn't even have to shout, just the look on her face was enough to make you shut up "We are on a very dangerous mission and we don't have time to deal with this silliness!"

"She started!"

"He started!"

You both cried out at the same time.

Uma took a deep breath, her patience running thin.

"I don't want to hear it. If you want to act like children, I'll treat you as such. Now, apologize to each other.

Harry and you exchanged looks of pure and sincere disgust.

"I won't do it" you threw your hands up.

"Neither will I" Harry declared, folding his arms.

"Great, so I'll call Evie and Gil and they can talk to you about the importance of friendship. I will personally ask them to sing about it"

Uma's threat was enough to make Harry turn to you and apologize.

Uma had real power over him. A true goddess, indeed.

"Okay, I'm sorry" the words that left his mouth were bitter and you knew he was dying inside for having to say them out loud, and that's why you enjoyed every single second of it.  
In this moment, Mal called all of you to hurry up because they were about to go to Fairy Cottage, Uma gave you and Harry a warning look before leaving the kitchen and you went to fetch another glass of water. You were almost finishing to drink it when you notice Harry staring.

You took the last gulp and smiled innocently at him.

"I'm sorry, did you want some?" you asked.

"You didn't apologize" he raised an eyebrow and you put the glass down. Walking closer to him, you looked the pirate right in the eye.  
"I just said I'm sorry, didn't I?"

"It doesn't count!"

"Yes, it does"

"No, it doesn't"

You hated to admit, but you were taking quite a liking to teasing him. Fortunately for you, Jay came into the kitchen to fetch you and Harry who were delaying the rest of the group. You couldn't help but notice the despleased look in the pirate's face.

Victory.


	5. Salty Tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a heartbreaking farewell, you swim back to Atlantic ready to fight for the Isle and Uma. Fortunately, you are not alone like you thought.

The sun was fading away in the horizon and soon it would be dark and, as you walked, you wondered why everything in this damned kingdom had to be so far away? Didn't they have magic carpets or something like that? Besides, since it was getting darker by the second, the sense of urgency was growing too. You had the feeling that Audrey was just playing with you - she obviously knew where you were, so why she didn't make a move yet? It was like a cat and mouse game and you were the mice heading towards a trap. Also, Mal having the Amber did not put your mind at ease since you didn't have the advantage. 

You were literally entering to the lion's lair willingly.

"What happened between you and Hook?" You raised an eyebrow and Evie, who had come to talk to you, explained. "We heard the screaming. I know he can be difficult to deal with, but soon we'll all be in Auradon together".

Evie was way too good for this world, wasn't she? You didn't have the heart to contradict her or tell the atrocity the pirate had done to you.

"I know, sweetie. Don't worry, I'll try to be civil, even if the person in question is an utterly jerk who deserves a punch".

She sighed, looking almost disappointed. Obviously, you didn't give the answer she was hoping for but honestly, what was she expecting from you? Moreover, your response was nice enough, considering Harry was annoying and a water thief. 

"That's a beginning, I suppose. But I think we can work on the aggressive attitude, though" she said with a shrug.

Oh, maybe you should have skipped the punching part... If she thought that was violent, you hoped she never found out that you almost chopped Harry's finger off, then.

As the time passed you grew impatient, it was already night and no one was in a chatty mood anymore. As for you, you've never wished for a day to end so fast and, on top of that, something else was bothering you and it was not the perspective of facing Psycho Audrey. Maybe it was the fact that once everything was over, Mal would let the kids off the Isle (it was what she had promised, after all). However, as much as you want to believe her, you had your doubts. Either way, nothing would ever be the same.

Finally, you arrived at Fairy Cottage and crossed the garden very quietly, trying not to draw attention to yourselves. When you finally got at the building, Ben burst the door open.   
Great way to go unnoticed.

However, in the end, it didn't matter because Audrey wasn't there and your little journey had been a waste of time, thereby she was still on the loose and you had no one idea where she could be or what she was planning to do (but whatever it was, it would be unpleasant). Suddenly, the sound of a bustling knock filled the air startling everybody. Ben followed the source of the disturbence and discovered a very scared Chad locked in the pantry. 

The poor thing looked completely distressed and hysterical and, soon after, he mumbled some nonsense and rushed off without a second thought.

"Well, at least he is pretty" you said out loud. How Cinderela could have had such a foolish son was beyond your comprehension, but his golden locks made up for the lack of discernment.

Harry laughed and the clumsy encounter with Chad lifted everyone's spirit and, when you left the Cottage, there weren't Mal's gang or Uma's crew anymore, just friends trying to save the world. Even if you were all doomed; at least you'd end up things in good terms.

Yeah, that's what you naively thought.

Evie told Ben about Mal's promise and apparently Mal had had other plans that she didn't bother sharing with anyone: she was going to close the barrier for good. No more in, no more out. 

Nothing serious or extreme.

No reason to freak out...

Holly shit! 

You felt like a fool!

Just to think that you gave your word to Harry and Gil that Ben wouldn't do that! You were so mad that you couldn't even talk and it never happened before! Also, you didn't have the heart to face Uma, not after you said to her things were changing for the better. You knew how Uma pretended to be tough, but right now her spirit had been shattered...

Harry confronted Ben about the lie and you thought he'd lose his shit and gut someone, but he just looked completely broken, like someone had taken away his will to fight. Even though Harry and Uma knew pain and betrayal, they didn't expect this. They trusted the people of Auradon were different and they were let down. 

Things weren't suppose to go this way! You wanted to do something! Anything! But what?

It was then that Celia took the amber from Mal's hand and threw it into the water. Well, if you were screwed before, now you were hopeless. At least it was for a good cause, if people in Auradon thought their lives were worthier than the life of the inhabitants of the Isle, let them rot. You couldn't even be mad at Uma for leaving since that was what you wanted to do too, but you knew there was nothing you could do to help her in this moment. Actually, you knew Uma well enough to know that going after her would only bother her.

The words Harry said to you earlier about Auradon's privilege echoed in your mind and you couldn't stay put anymore.

"I know this is not my place to say something. I mean, most of the time I'm not even here, I'm not a VK and closing the barrier doesn't affect my life... but it does. It does because there are people there, good people destined to live a dreadful life just because they were born on that Isle! People in Auradon have been living their perfect little lives where everything is pretty and colorful while we claim to be the good guys, but what we have done to the villains and their kids is atrocious! There will always be good and evil, that's how life works and we can't run away from it. Deciding which path to follow is what defines someone's true self, but in order to make this decision we need to have a chance. Mal, you of all people should know that, you had a chance and now that your life is good you want to deny those children the same opportunity? From this day on, every time you play 'happily ever after' with your prince charming, know that you are doing it at the expense of a child on that Isle"

You wish you had heard Mal's reply, but as soon as you finished talking, the world froze.

\------------------

Legend says that you were indeed the hottest stone statue in Auradon, but it didn't soothe you a bit. To say you were pissed was not nearly enough to express what you were feeling right now. If Audrey weren't already dying, you would have gladly killed her yourself. The only reason why you were still in the awful human world was Uma... this, and also because becoming stone had consumed all your energies and right now you were way too busy drinking a huge bottle of salted water to not die of dehydration.  
Your grandfather would have to choose another diplomat because you were never ever setting foot on land again. 

Maybe, if you weren't so angry, you would have choked on your drink when Mal told Hades was her father. 

It explained a lot about her, though. 

So, Hades, Mal's father, was the only one who could save Audrey and they were going to fetch him on the Isle to help the dying girl. Oh! The double standard! When a kid from Auradon curses everybody is "a mistake", but if someone from the Isle does that is "they are too dangerous, let's lock them up forever". Is it fair? No. Does anyone care? Also no.   
You thought it couldn't get any worse, but boy, you were wrong. Uma just said she was going back to the Isle, which was pretty understandable and expected, but you had one itty-bitty tiny hope that she would stay. 

Oh, on top of that, everyone accepted Mal and Ben's selfish decision to close the barrier. You scoffed under your breath, salted water wasn't enough to deal with all this, you needed something stronger, like vodka. The good thing was, since everyone was leaving and your cousins were safe, you had no more business in the human world and you took your cue from the VKs to announce your own departure too. 

You waited for the limo alongside Uma, Harry, Gil and Celia, the atmosphere was tense, and you had seen happier people at funerals.

"I thought you were going back to Atlantica" the teal haired girl said, breaking the overwhelming silence.

"I'll go with you... until we reach the barrier, at least" your voice was more hoarse than you expected it to.

"Yeah, don't want to risk getting trapped, right?" If this was supposed to be a mean comment, Harry had failed; he just sounded sad, like everyone else. The pirate wasn't expecting an answer but you gave him one, anyway.

"I wouldn't mind going to the Isle, but there is no magic there and no magic means no legs for me, so you would be stuck with a mermaid... unless you don't care to carry me around..." you half-joked.

The car finally arrived and you got into it. It was nice that Ben sent the limo to pick up the VKs, and the guard's vehicle was going ahead, probably to go find Hades. There was all sorts of food in the limo, but no one touched them because all of you were way too lost in your own minds to be hungry. As you were approaching the Isle the unsettling feeling in your stomach grew worst and there was definitely something wrong with your eyes. Just before the car crossed the barrier, you asked the driver to stop. For one second, it seemed he would argue against it, but you gave him a warning look, since you weren't in the mood for more useless fights.

"Uma, can we talk outside for one second, please?" you asked.

You two got out of the car and, as soon as Uma closed the door, you hugged her.

"I'm sorry, Uma. I'm so sorry" the only thing you could do was to repeat how sorry you were, but you knew your apologies didn't change anything.

"I know" she reassured you, looking in your eyes "It's not your fault, you shouldn't be apologizing".

"Someone has to" you said, your felt so tight in your chest that hurt. Then, Uma smiled and hold your hand.

"Thanks for everything you've done for me. I don't know how I would have gone through the past months without you"

"You'd have done just fine, you're a fighter" it was now or never, you lowered your voice so even if someone in the car was paying attention to the conversation, they wouldn't hear you "You can still change your mind, let's go back to Atlantica and, before you interrupt me, Harry and Gil can come too. I have no idea how this is going to work but we'll figure it out" you offered her - you had to try.

"You know I can't abandon the Isle, speacially now" her eyes were full of sorrow, she knew exactly what meant to go back "Maybe you can swim near the barrier so we can see each other from time to time".

You knew she would say that, but it didn't mean it hurt any less.

"Definitely!" you tried to sound cheerful, but the words that left your mouth were robotic and fake "We'll see each other again". 

This was a lie, even if you saw each other, it would never be the same. The realization hit you hard and that weird feeling that you had in the car, finally made sense when streams of salt water started falling from your eyes. 

"I'm leaking!" you freaked out "What is that?! I'm leaking!"

"You're crying, you idiot" she laughed, her eyes watering too.

"Nonsense, mermaids don..." before you could complete the sentence, Uma hugged you again, which made you start crying even harder. 

No, not crying, leaking.

"I promise, Uma. I'll not stop fighting for the Isle. I'll talk to Mal, Ben or whoever I must to! They will change their minds, even if, in order to do so, I have to summon up the wrath of the ocean upon them".

You didn't know how long you two stayed crying in each others arms but a voice with a thick accent called both of you after a while.

"Are you ladies alright?" Harry asked. The pirate and Gil were standing there next to both of you. The dark haired boy had a hint of curiosity on his face but he knew better than to tease his captain. 

You two pulled away from the hug, Uma looked slightly embarassed to get caught in such an emotional moment. 

"I can't believe I'm leaking" you said while trying to wipe away the tears from your eyes; however, they insisted on falling down. 

This was so awkward.

"You're not leaking, you're crying" Gil's brow furrowed "Don't you know what crying is?"

"Yes, I do... it's just I've never cried before..." you said between sobs.

"Wow, life in Auradon must be really perfect if people don't even cry here" for the firts time since you met him, he sounded sad. The boy was probably thinking about all the opportunities he would never have in Auradon because he was destined to live on the Isle forever.

They took away Gil's bright smile and you could not forgive that.

"It's not that... I live in the sea, tears don't fall when you are under water" you explained, finally calming down.

"Maybe the ocean is just a big pool of mermaid's tears." Gil said absently, eyeing the vast blue ocean in front of him and you couldn't help but hug the blonde boy too.

The Sea Bitch was such a softie.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Gil. I wish we had more time to know each other better, but I know for sure that you're loyal, brave and gentle. I hope you are very happy. You deserve it".

You broke apart short after and Gil seemed very touched by your words.

"Thanks... that was one of nicest things that someone ever said to me" he offered you a shy smile "I wish you the same".

You looked at Harry, who looked back right into your eyes. You stared at each other until you hold out your hand, which he accepted. It was weird, Harry Hook has gotten on your nerves since the very first moment you met. He was smug, annoying and a little crazy, but at the same time he was very funny and fearless, qualities that you admired. You wanted to say something, but before you could open your mouth he let go of your hand.

That was it, then.

You also said goodbye to Celia and wished her the best. Then, the VKs got into the car again and, since Harry was the last one standing outside, you took the chance to ask him a favor.

"Please, take care of Uma"

His face broke into small smile and he nodded slightly.

You watched with a shattered heart the limo cross the barrier, taking away your friends from you forever. 

There was nothing else you could do, so you jumped into the ocean and disappeared between the waves.

Not an hour ago all you wanted was to be back home, but now everything seemed pointless. For the last months Uma lived in Atlantica and going back without her gave you a knot in the stomach, things wouldn't be the same anymore without your friend there. The two of you used to spend hours plotting ways to get everyone off the Isle, finding a hole in the barrier or just talking about the future... and now you had nothing but crushed hopes. Of course you wouldn't give up, but you felt like you had moved backwards 10 spaces in the game, you fought for the merfolk on the Isle for so long and when it finally seemed that everything was going to be fine, it was a lie.

You were so absorbed in your thoughts that you didn't pay attention to where you were heading, which caused you to bump into your mother and younger brother.

"Where have you been"? Attina asked, her voice was somewhere between angry and concerned, but it was impossible to miss the vein popping out on her forehead "I was worried sick about you!"

"Sorry mom, I was in Auradon" you told her, knowing very well that this answer would only upset her more because there was no way she hadn't hear about Audrey and her little mishap.

"Auradon?!" The look of horror on her face made clear that she knew about what happened and wasn't happy about it. If humans thought you were hardcore, it was because they never talked to your mother "Do you know what Sleeping Beauty's daughter did?"

If you knew? You lived and survived it.

"I heard even Uma was there! Your grandfather was almost sending guards to look for you and your cousins! What happened?" 

"Did you finally meet Uma, then?" your brother, Nereus, joined the conversation. He didn't know anything about Uma or that you two were friends. Also, he had no idea that he had talked to her many times when she was under the charm spell. 

Then, your mother called by your full name, which never meant something good.

"You weren't there in hopes to befriend Ursula's daughter and bring all the merfolk from the Isle to Atlatica, were you?" Your mother knew you so well... and she wasn't happy.

"Of course not, mom..." I'm already friends with Uma, you added mentally. 

Before she started complaining, you explained everything that happened that day (ok, almost everything, you definitely skipped some parts). Her disapproval face grew to the point her vein was ready to explode, while your brother gasped and cheered at the most exciting parts, as you told the story. Under other circumstances you would have narrated the events in a dramatic and majestic way, not sparing any single detail; however, it was way too painful to remember that was your first and last adventure with Uma and her crew.

"Will they close the barrier forever for real?" Nereus asked and, when you nodded, he offered you a sympathetic smile. He knew how much you fought for the merpeople on the Isle.

Your mother, on the other hand, had other things bothering her. 

"So, you tell me that they let a bunch of kids fight against a delusional girl who held one of the most dangerous tools of dark magic in the kingdom? Where were Fairy Godmother, the Blue Fairy, the 3 Good Fairies? You can't trust fairies, that's what I always say to your grandfather! Where were Belle and the Beast? Any adults?!" as she talked, her voice got more and more high-pitched, until she was practically shouting.

"They were probably under Audrey's spell" you enlightned her, even knowing that it would not ease her mind one bit.

"That's an absurd! How can we trust our kids to go to Auradon Prep if they can't keep the security system of a museum working properly?!"

You and your brother exchanged looks. Although your mother had a valid point, you didn't want to hear any of it, which was odd, because you never missed the opportunity to roast the human world. 

Claiming to be tired, you excused yourself and swam to your room and, as soon as you got there, you glanced at the spot where Uma would used to stay, knowing that you'd probably never talk to her again. You felt like someone was crushing your heart and if you weren't under the sea, tears would be rolling down your face. You lay on the bed, trying to stop thinking about Uma, the Isle and everything. It was a good thing that you were exhausted, so you soon fell into a dreamless sleep.

You weren't sure how much time had passed, but, suddenly, you were woken by someone knocking on your door. You cursed under your breath, who, in the seven seas, was disturbing you right now? Not even bothering to look up, you invited whoever was at your door to come in, you heard them entering and closing the door and, after a moment, you felt the weight of someone sitting on your bed. 

They coughed and you recognized the deep voice that belonged to none other than your grandfather, King Triton.

"Grandpa!" you sat up quickly and hugged him.

"Hello, my dear" everyone feared your grandfather for he had quite a dauntless reputation (even you had to admit that he was frightening sometimes), also, his temper was known in all Auradon. However, when he looked at you with those gentle eyes, you forgot he was the King of the ocean, in these moments he was just your grandfather and you fell protected and loved near him. 

"Oh grandpa, it was dreadful and I'm misarable" you hugged him again, hiding your face on his neck.

"Your mother told me what happened and that King Ben wants to close the barrier" his voice was so calm that it was difficult to imagine that when he was angry he could create storms and tsunamis.

"That's horrible. I feel so powerless and guilty! I know most of people think everyone in the Isle is evil but that's not true! They are kind and loyal and they don't deserve to be doomed to perish in that place! You should have seem their faces when Mal told them the program had been shut down" your grandfather wasn't know for his love for villains, everytime someone brought Ursula up he got riled up and changed the subject quickly, but you needed to speak out.

"And who are 'they' that you're talking about?" he asked, stroking you hair softly to confort you.

"You know... Celia, Gil, Harry... and Uma" you were nervous to talk about Uma with him. Actually, despite him knowing that you were in charge for her "search party" you have never discussed that you wanted to bring her to Atlantica, even more that you had brought her to the palace clandestinely and that she lived under his roof for months.  
"Uma?" his voice was stern when he said your friend's name.

"Grandpa" you straightned up and looked him in the eye "I know it must be hard for you because Ursula caused great pain to our family but Uma has nothing to do with it, she is brave, smart and care so much about other people. She had the chance to stay in Auradon but she came back to the Isle because she couldn't abandon them! She might has taken some questionable decisions, but who hasn't? She was fighting for what she believed was right! Isn't it what you taught me?

King Triton furrowed his brows; the wrinkles in his forehead were visible which could only mean he was deliberating something.

"You do seem to know a lot about her" he said after a while, his voice and face were severe and you swallowed... this conversation was taking a dangerous path.

"Well... I..."

Before you could finish the sentence, your grandfather cut you off.

"I know what you did"

You froze, he couldn't possibly be talking about Uma living in Atlantica. There was no way he knew that, if he had had any suspicion of what you did, he would have been beyond furious, so you tried to play cool.

"What are you talking about, grandpa?"

He raised an eyebrow and sighed.

"I know you brought Uma to live here in Atlantica"

And then you died.

The end.

Oh wait.

You weren't dead... but you were sure your grandfather just told you that he knew about Uma... Something was terribly wrong. He probably noticed your bulging eyes and horrified expression because he elucidated soon after.

"I raised seven daughters, my darling. I don't need my trident to see through a charm spell and a lie" it was weird, his voice was strangely serene and he looked slightly amused.

"But... how... like... why... Aren't you angry?" there weren't enough words to describe your shock right now.

"I learned to trust the people I love a long time ago, even when we don't agree on the subject." his tone was solemn and wise and it made you feel so small and pathetic because you knew you had disappointed him.

"I'm sorry, grandpa.... I'm sorry that I lied to you and that I disappointed you, but I'm not sorry for what I did" you didn't have the courage to look him in the eyes, but he lifted up your face and smiled.

"You didn't disappoint me. I trusted you enough to let you do what you thought was right, that was what I taught you. And considering everything I saw in the last months, I believe Uma is a good girl and I'm glad you're friends"

You returned his smile, not in your wildest dreams you thought your grandfather would understand this and it made you so glad how supportive and understanding he was about everything. 

"I'm sorry for lying to you! I won't do it again" you promised him.

"You're young, you will" he laughed it off "But trust me when I say that I'll be by your side no matter what"

Everything should be perfect; however, there were a bitter feeling in your mouth and a knot in the pit of your stomach that you couldn't get rid of. In the end, it didn't matter if your grandfather trusted Uma or not, because she would be trapped on the Isle forever.

"So… I think I need your help" you bit your lip, uncertain of how to say it "We can't let them close the barrier for good, but I don't know what to do!"

"Don't worry, I promised I'll talk to King Ben about this. They can't just close the barrier like this without measuring the consequences" he reassured you "Now, rest, my darling. You had a long day"

He got up and swan towards your door, but before leaving he turned his head and said.

"Otherwise, you have my permission to summon up the wrath of the ocean upon them" he winked at you and left.

"Wait" you whispered to yourself "How does he even know?"

And then it hit you.

"SEBASTIAN!"


	6. An Unexpected Turn of Events

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mal and Ben are getting married, bla bla bla, everybody is happy bla bla bla they lived happily ever after bla bla bla the barrier was destroyed...   
Wait, what?

"I'm never, ever setting foot on shore again, grandpa will have to find another diplomat because I quit!" you announced very eloquently to the only merman in the room: your brother who, on the other hand, was trying to make you help him with his summer homework.

"Yeah sure, it's not like you say this every time you come back from Auradon or anything" he didn't even bother looking up from his essay "Who won the battle of the Irish Sea?"

"But this time is true, they made it personal" you grumbled, swimming back and forth impatiently. 

"They always do..." he said absently, knowing very well it was pointless to try to reason with you when you were having an outburst "Was it the Kappas?"

Ok, no matter how pissed you were, you could not have your own brother messing up the Water Kingdom's History like this, so you sat by his side and took the paper from his hand.

"Let me see this" you corrected him, perusing through the essay he wrote "Not the Kappas. The selkies won after the kelpies joined their side."

"I know you're sad..." Nereus said after a while, eyes filled with concern.

You sighed and put the essay down. 

"I'm not..." you began, but he interrupted you before you could come up with some excuse. 

People believing that you were angry and cranky was one thing, but Neptune forbid anyone to know you've got a heart. 

"Yes, you are! It's been almost a week since you went to Auradon and I've never seen you so off. Yesterday Aethra said she couldn't wait until she was old enough to go to the surface and you didn't even roll your eyes. Last year, when Ogen spoke the same thing, you made a complete speech of why life under the sea is much better than anything humans have to offer, you had slides and everything."

He squeezed your hand gently and offered you a supportive smile.

"Even Aqua noticed how quiet you are… Please don't tell her I'm telling you this, but she said she prefers you ranting to this silence."

"I doubt" you let out a breathy chuckle.

The presence of your brother was comforting so you allowed yourself to let your guard down and lay on his lap while he stroked your hair. Both of you stayed a while like this, each one absorbed in your own thoughts. Yes, it had been almost a week since everything had happened and you still had nightmares about that; the look on Harry's face when he said Ben was just going to throw them all back inside the Isle would hunt you forever. 

Truth be told, you swam next to the barrier a couple of times, but the only things you saw were seaweed, rocks, some weird looking fish and a dead goblin. It wasn't like you could ask someone to tell Uma you'd be expecting her and, even If you could see her, what would you do? People inside the barrier could not hear anything from the outside, and again, even if they could, what would you tell her? How sorry you were? That it wasn't fair? Uma didn't need anyone saying what she has known all her life.  
You were torturing yourself, feeling your stomach turn on itself with guilty when your grandfather glided into the room. Both of you and your brother stood up, showing respect to the king of the seas.

"May I talk to you for a moment, my dear" he pointed to you and your brother took his belongings and left the room, he whispered a "good luck" as he passed by you and swam off.

"Yes, grandpa?" your chest filled up with hope that your grandfather had spoken to Ben and made him change his mind about the Isle.

However, it was only wishful thinking because the reality was way crueler than whatever you could have imagined.

"About tomorrow…" he started.

Oh no! Ben and Mal's engagement party was tomorrow, but you had already decided you weren't going, no matter how hard your grandfather or anyone tried to convince you to.   
You couldn't stand the idea of having to smile to them while all you wanted to do was to scream and cry. How could you pretend that everything was okay when nothing was? The hypocrisy made you sick.

"I won't go" you told him, you even tried to use your 'heiress of the throne' tone, but of course the current king of Atlantica wouldn't fall for that.

"You're the diplomat between the human kingdom and the water kingdom" he reminded you, his expression turning as serious as his voice.

"Was" you corrected him "I quit".

That little voice inside your head was telling to stop defying your grandfather. He could be very understanding of some things (like you still didn't believe he knew about Uma all the time and didn't lose it), but he also had plans for you that required you to be Atlantica's representative, because, accordingly to your grandfather and mother, no one would defend the water kingdom's interests better than you. Actually, that was their way of saying "We don't want to deal with this and since one day you'll have to rule, it's better that you know what to do. Also, we don't want the fish eaters thinking that we hate them". But, being honest, your grandfather liked humans now as much as he did in the past; the only difference was that he learned how to tolerate them. 

Anyway, the truth was: Auradon wasn't as great as people wanted to believe. In theory, having all kingdoms unified was a superb idea, but in practice most of places were losing their own cultural identity, adapting their traditions and habits to fit in Auradon's new rules. If your grandfather had followed all King Beat's proposals 20 years ago, Atlantica would have become a tourist attraction for humans. It wasn't like King Triton didn't want to be more engaged in Auradon society, but he was afraid to lose the independence of the merpeople. Thus, he hoped that when you assumed the throne, you'd have a better foreign policy than he had without giving up Atlantica's culture and pride.

He looked at you and his piercing glare went right through your soul... 

King Triton, intimidating? No, not at all.

"This is not just the King and Queen's engagement party, but also your friend's"

"But grandpa..." you cried out.

"I won't hear it" he raised his hand to show that his decision was final and he wouldn't hear anything else.

You tilted your head back and groaned, if you couldn't talk yourself out of this, you could very well show your dissatisfaction. 

"Glad we came to an agreement" he gave a pleased smile like he always did when his wishes were fulfilled and, as he swam past you, he patted your hair "And you might end up having fun"

You rolled your eyes and lay on the floor, defeated. You don't know how long you stayed there, contemplating your misfortune, when suddenly you felt something walking on your tail; you craned your neck and saw Sebastian staring back at you.

"Traitor" you murmured.

"Being in the human world is never my choice. Your grandfather asked me to" he explained, sliding down to your side and you turned over to have a better view of him.

"No one likes to be there, so why do I have to go?" 

"For the same reason I had: your grandfather is the king. But I didn't come to discuss the fairness of life" his words caught your attention and you raised an eyebrow in curiosity.   
Sebastian seemed a little anxious: he looked side to side and beckoned to you to get closer and, when you did, he said in a muffled and rushed voice:

"You know Derek? That lobster? Yesterday, he was near the northern part of the barrier and saw a girl with teal hair there... even better, he said it was the second time he spotted her there by sunset"

Before you could refrain yourself, you picked the crab up, holding him on the palm of your hand. There was no use in denying that you knew Uma because Sebastian had followed you in Auradon and was aware that you and the sea witch's daughter were friends.

"What?" you practically yelled and your whole body shivered with joy for knowing that Uma had been looking for you "Are you sure?"

"Yes" he confirmed "I thought it could lift your spirit up "

"Sebastian it did! I'm going there now" you stood up in a heartbeat, but before you could make your way to the Isle, Sebastian called you.

"If you go there now, King Triton will think you're avoiding the engagement party" he remarked reasonably.  
Damn it, he had a point   
"Why don't you go tomorrow after greeting King Ben and his future queen?" He suggested, eyeing you innocently, but you saw right true his intentions.   
The only reason he told you about Uma was to give you a boost of encouragement to go to Auradon again, this way you would be excited for the party and wouldn't complain too much about being there.   
He was a clever crustaceous.   
Well, it worked, at least now you could pretend you were having fun, whereas what you were really looking forward to was seeing Uma again.   
"Deal" you hold out your hand and you he shake it to seal the deal.  
Even if the party was dreadful, the perspective of meeting Uma again was pretty motivating. You should have asked if Derek saw someone else with her, it was weird but you wouldn't mind seeing Harry again.   
_____________

"Ugh, I can't believe I'm going back there"

Talking to Sebastian got you very excited; however, now that you really had to go, you were having second thoughts about it. 

You didn't have to attend to any human gathering to go to the barrier; you could very well wait in Atlantic until sunset. 

"Why can't grandpa send someone who actually wants to be there? Aqua wouldn't mind, or April or Adryan..." you whined - any of your cousins would gladly go to Mal and Ben's engagement, but of course you were the one your grandfather insisted on. 

Nereus, who tried to fix your hair in a new style, hummed blankly to show he was listening.

"I'm feeling sick... Grandpa can't make me go if I'm sick" you turned your face to him and he casted an annoyed look at you before going back to applying pearls in your hair.

"You already used that one not to go to the Royal Cotillion" he reminded you, turning your head forward impatiently when you tried to look at him again.

"But I was sick" you protested, earning an amused glare from him "I was sick of human's bullshit".

He burst out laughing.

"I don't think our grandfather will consider it a good reason to skip this ball" he said after regaining his composure. 

"Well, at least I'll be closer to the Isle" you mumbled to yourself, but Nereus heard you.

"Why? What will you do?" he stopped what he was doing and sat on the dressing table, staring at you "Please, don't tell you plan on bringing the barrier down by yourself".

"I don't have the power to do it… You know I've tried" you joked and thankfully, Nereus played along.

"You don't need power, use your head... I mean... it is very hard. I'm pretty sure if you swim fast enough you can make a whole in the barrier".

You punched him playfully and got up.

"Hey, I didn't finish your hair" he called out.

"But I have to go, otherwise I won't arrive in time" you explained, grabbing your comb and placing it between the shells and pearls your brother had adorned your hair with.

Of course, the truth was you weren't leaving because you didn't want to be late, but because your brother was smart enough to figure out that you were up to no good. 

"Wish me luck" you hugged him.

"Good luck!" he kissed your cheek and with that, you left. 

Your mother told you to be kind and not to forget the manners she taught you, your grandfather said how proud of you he was and even asked if you didn't want to take his royal carriage, to which you denied politely.

You rather swam by yourself and if you were going to the Isle after the party, a carriage pulled by dolphins would be hard to go unnoticed.

You bid goodbye and took the path towards Auradon. The City wasn't close to Atlantica, but years of comings and goings made you an expert and you were able to arrive there in a very short time. Also, fins were so much faster than legs, which made the travel easier. 

In other circumstances you'd have stopped to talk to many friends that lived nearby, but a little mantra was echoing in your mind "The faster you get there, the faster you leave. The faster you get there, the faster you leave" - you didn't mean to stay more than the necessary; after all. Your grandfather told you to go to Auradon, but he didn't say how long you had to staythere.

Besides, Sebastian said Uma was seen at the barrier by sunset, but what if she decided to go earlier? You were going to be there one hour in advance for precaution.   
Although magic was highly discouraged, there was no other way for the merpeople to become human without it. That's why a magical necklace was given to any mermaid or merman who wanted to venture themselves ashore.

Those necklaces weren't given away easily, though. In order to acquire one, you had to fill a formulary explaining why you needed it and it had to be accepted by King Ben and King Triton themselves. It was very bureaucratic and the only reason this process had to be done was because King Beast declared all magic should be banished so you could not hand around magical objects freely. 

However, since you were a royal diplomatic, they made an exception.

Call it privilege.

One good thing about those necklaces was that King Triton made sure that once you went through the transformation, clothes would magically appear to. It was a huge improvement since your aunt Ariel had gotten her own legs from her deal with Ursula; imagine how would it be if you had to walk around naked until you find something to wear.  
At least the merfolk didn't have to worry about that anymore. So, once you got on the beach and turned into human you had on a beautiful dress that matched the shells your brother chose to decorate your hair. 

It wasn't as pretty as your tail and fins, though.

You headed to Auradon Prep because the party would be held near the school (why they were so obsessed by this place was beyond your comprehension). When you finally arrived, everyone was already there, talking and having fun. Thankfully, your cousins that lived in Auradon weren't hard to find and rushed towards them - you couldn't help but notice that, as you got closer, they exchanged money between themselves.

"What's going on?" you asked, intrigued by what you just saw.

"Nothing" Arabella answered "What a lovely dress you're wearing. How is gramps doing?".

She changed the topic way too fast, which made your curiosity grow, but you decided to ignore it for the time being.

"He is fine. He misses you a lot and says you should visit us more often. I can't understand Bella, why do you prefer being here among sweaty humans?"

"Do you ever change the subject?" she complained, rolling her eyes "This is a party and I refuse to deal with your bullshit today"

"Maybe tomorrow, then!" you fired back and she voiced her discontentment with an exasperated shriek.

"Why are you like this?" she said before flouncing off, bouncing her hair as she did so. 

"What did I do?" you asked Ella, who had been quiet up to that moment, and she chuckled. 

"I miss this" she said, pointing to you and the crowd. 

"You're the only one"

"It wouldn't hurt if you came to visit us once in a while, you know" she looked up, her hopeful smile made her eyes crinkle and you mirrored her expression, smiling too.  
Ella was Ariel's younger daughter and, even though you didn't see her as much as you would like, she was probably your favorite cousin; she was kind and outgoing, which was a good counterpoint to your not so affable nature.

Before you could reply, one of the merfolk who attended Auradon Prep joined you both, he gave you a little bow and handed your cousin some money. You waited for him to leave before question her about it.

"Ella, what's happening?" your tone made clear you wouldn't take a "nothing" for an answer.

The girl sighed, knowing it was a lost battle.

"Maybe there is a bet going on…" she told you, voice trailing off.

You raised an eyebrow, face turning stoic and you feigned boredom.

"Does it involve me?"

"Well, some people didn't believe you'd show up today after the whole Audrey fiasco" she glanced at you out of the corner of her eye and, when you didn't say anything, Ella went on "We made a bet: everyone believed you wouldn't appear, you know. I was the only one who knew you'd be here and now I'm making a lot of money."

She showed you the amount she had already won and it was kind of impressive. It seemed that half of Auradon was sure you hated the human world.

They were right.

Okay, not hate. It was a great dislike.

"I can't believe you thought I'd come" you said without hiding the indignation in your voice and a little offended that your own cousin didn't know you better.

"C'mon. I knew you wouldn't want to, but I was certain grandpops wouldn't give you much of a choice, so even against your will - and I know you must had protested a lot - you'd be here today".

Your cousin was kind, yet cunning, and that was why she was your favorite.

"I'm impressed" you clapped, nodding your head slowly as you did so.

"I know. I'm amazing" she teased and then, her expression became concerned "How are you, by the way? I've heard they will close the barrier forever"

You whined, for one moment you had forgotten about how you failed the Isle and Uma. First you were angry at Mal and Ben, but now? Now you wanted blood... not literally, but you were kind of mad.

"I've been better... you just remind me I had to wish Ben and Mal my best regards in the name of Atlantica."

"Okay, see you later" she cheered and added on for precaution "Try to be polite, please" 

When she asked you that, the memory of Sebastian, your mother and grandfather pleading you to be civil in this party echoed in your mind. What did they think of you? That you were a mannerless monster? 

You were very well educated, thank you very much, but didn't waste your good manners on people who didn't deserve it.

"Can't make any promises" you laughed off, disappearing into the crowed to find the King and Mal. 

You didn't have to look for them for long as a mass of people was surrounding the fiancés to be while they thanked everybody for coming to their party. They seemed so merry and pleased whilst their subjects wished them all the happiness of the world. People in Auradon were just so fucking good and gracious, weren't they?

Hypocrites.

You had a plan, though. 

1- Smile.

2- Greet.

3- Leave.

It was simple, short, and impossible to mess up.

Smile, greet, leave, smile, greet, leave. You kept repeating it like a mantra as you approached them.

For one moment their cheerful expressions froze and their eyes widened to the size a saucer, but they recomposed themselves quickly enough. Either they were surprised to see you there or they were afraid you were going to snap.

But you wouldn't snap.

You had a plan.

"Your Majesties" you smiled, bobbing a curtsy to them.

1 - Smile. Check.

They saluted you, asking how things were back in Atlantica and the conversation was brief and polite, like it should be.

"In the name of Atlantica I wish you both prosperity and wisdom to rule, and that your life is filled with great joys"

You said that in a very diplomatic tone that could have fooled anyone.

2 - Greet. Check

They thanked you and you made your exit.

3 - Leave. Che...

"And…" you turned back with a spin. 

Screw the plan; you didn't sell your voice to a sea witch, so you may as well use it.

"Speaking for me, I really want you both to be happy. I mean, someone has to, right? Considering that you doomed thousands of people to a life of suffering just so you could have your perfect happily ever after without any inconveniences"

Then, you left.

One day you'd be all diplomatic and shit, but that day wasn't today.

And, to be fair, you've tried to be reasonable for years and all you got was "Oh sorry, we can't let anyone off the island. It's not that simple, this would require lots of planning and social reintegration, but we will take this matter into consideration in the future...". That's why you started speaking your mind: even if didn't change anything, at least it wouldn't leave a bitter taste in your mouth for not saying your real opinion.

Yeah, your grandfather really should reconsider who he sent to land for affairs of state.

Whatever, just a few more hours and you'd be making your way to the barrier to see Uma.

You were trying to find your cousin again when Audrey intercepted you, looking rather tense.

"Hey" she greeted you but without meeting your eyes.

Audrey seemed to have taken a strange interested in her hands, which she wringed unsteadily, you noticed.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry for.. you know... cursing you and your family..." she said, voice shaking a little.

Oh! So Audrey was a nervous wreck to talk to you, how amusing. It boosted your ego but you weren't that mean.

"Relax, Audrey. It's all forgiven" you put her mind at ease.

She let out a breath and her face brightened up.

"But" you offered her a smile that slowly fade into a severe frown "If you do it again I'll make you wish for something as sweet as sleeping for 100 years".

It was clearly a joke but Audrey didn't get it as she excused and made herself scarce in seconds.

"You know... if you want people to understand when you are joking, you shouldn't keep a straight face".

You jerked your head to face Jay, who handed you a glass with a purple liquid in it.

"I wasn't that intense" you took a sip of the drink, it was way too sweet for your salted water taste, and you were pretty sure that it was alcoholic too. Well, maybe alcohol was the key to survive this party.

"C'mon! You were like this" he mimic you, making quite a murderous expression. Then, resuming his neutral expression, he added "You are like the sea'.

That was new… but you weren't sure about what he meant by that.

"I'm salty and I scare people?" scrunching your face up in confusion.

It took some good minutes for Jay pull himself together.

"I was going to say imposing and beautiful, but that too" he said, wiping the tears from his eyes.

You couldn't help but crack a smile and, since you didn't think of a good answer (which was very unusual), you took another sip of whatever beverage that was.

Fortunately, Jay didn't notice how embarrassed you were by his compliment and changed the topic soon after.

"So, how ar..." 

"Stop right there" you warned him, holding your finger up.

"What?" the VK's brows burrowed in confusion but deep inside he was afraid that he had said something wrong.

"I know this face." you explained "Every time people ask how I am, they do this pitiful face and I can't have that... not from you…".

It was painful how most people assumed that you were miserable because of last week events. Okay, you were sad and pissed but gosh, you hated that condescending attitude.  
"Sorry, I just wanted to make sure you were okay" he didn't seem offended by your words, but the atmosphere between you two grew colder and awkward.

Great, of all people you could have snapped at today, you did it to Jay. 

Now, you were sad, pissed and stupid.

"Sorry... I didn't mean to be rude" you apologized "If you really want to know, I'm a mess. The only reason I didn't cry this whole week was because I live under water, but if you tell this to anyone, I'll deny it".

"It's going to be our secret then" Jay stroked your arm to show support "You really care about the Isle, don't you?"

You shrugged, not knowing what to say to him. Yes, you cared about the Isle and the people there; it was hard to explain the reason, though. Maybe another time…

"By the way, I wanted to ask you this..." he cooed and if you hadn't been so busy with that drink, you'd have seen the mischievous gleam in his eyes "Did Uma and you already know each other, by any chance?"

You choked.

Hard.

Jay went to your aid quickly and helped you to recover, slapping your back lightly. 

A mermaid choking on a liquid, what a joke.

"No..." your voice cracked and it wasn't because you're still faint "Why would you think that?"

"Well…" he began, but was cut off soon after.

Thank goodness, Mal and Ben announced they would start their pronouncement and Jay joined his former friends. All people gathered under the balcony where the Royal Family stood proudly, and everybody was eager to hear the news their King and Queen would say.

It was difficult to hear one's thoughts over the cheering and acclamation. However, since you didn't share their happiness, you stayed away from the commotion, enjoying your sweet drink.

Ben started his speech, of course he was very pleased to have Mal as his queen and everyone was happy. 

Everyone, except the people on the Isle, of course.

You scoffed so loudly that if people hadn't been hearing Ben's speech, they would have heard you. Subsequently, the king proposed a toast to Mal and you wondered if it would be rude to ignore it.

Everything would be so much easier if your grandfather had made your brother the diplomat of Atlantica, considering he was a people pleaser like you would never be.   
Well, it wouldn't hurt to raise your glass, so you did it... very discretely.

For everyone's surprise, Mal announced she couldn't be Queen of Auradon, causing a wave of gasps and murmurs from the puzzled crowd. Really? Were they really surprised? Like, Mal was a drama queen, she just needed an emotional solo or Evie knocking some sense into her head for her to change her mind. 

Unless it involved the Isle of course, then she didn't care to condemn them forever, you thought bitterly.

Yep, you were salty enough to cause hypertension in every single soul in Auradon.

However, you did not expect, not even in your wildest dreams, what followed next. Actually, even after years, you'd still remember that day and think "what the hell just happened". If people were shocked when Mal said she couldn't be queen, they nearly had a stroke when she brought down the barrier. It wasn't like she let just the villain kids off, she destroyed the barrier, and everyone was free.

As a personal note, you observed how fast Ben changed his discourse from "We can't get the merfolk off the Isle without consequences, we need preparation, meetings, plans..." to "Ok, my bae wants to bring down the barrier and I won't argue with her. So yeah, let's do it".

Not that you were complaining but, had you known that it only took a love potion for Ben do what you wanted, you'd have done it.

Wow! What a wild thought to have...

Maybe you were getting a little drunk...

But the barrier came down so, whatever...

You looked at King Beast's face and he was about to pass out any moment, but other than that, everyone seemed very excited to meet the villains. 

It wasn't like a minute ago they didn't give a damn about the people there or their fate. 

Well, maybe that was Auradon's magic: one moment you hated each other, in the next you were all singing and dancing on a bridge.

You finished your drink in one go because that was going to be a party to remember.


End file.
